722 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Altliougla geographically near, and having been in commercial re- 

 lations with the rest of the world for over three hundred and fifty 

 years, there is probably less known to-day about Mexico than of al- 

 most any other country claiming to be civilized ; certainly not as 

 much as concerning Egypt, Palestine, or the leading states of British 

 India ; and not any more than concerning the outlying provinces of 

 Turkey, the states of Northern Africa, or the seaport districts of China 

 and Japan. It is doubtful, furthermore, if as large a proportion as 

 one in a thousand of the fairly educated men of the United States or 

 of Europe could at once, and without reference to an encyclopaedia, 

 locate and name the twenty-seven States or political divisions into 

 which the Republic of Mexico is divided, or so many of its towns and 

 cities as have a population in excess of fifteen or twenty thousand. 

 The explanation of this is that, prior to the construction and opening 

 of the Mexican " Central " and Mexican " National " Railroads, or vir- 

 tually prior to the year 1883, the exploration of Mexico — owing to 

 the almost total absence of roads and of comfortable hospicia for man 

 and beast, the utter insecurity for life and property, the intervention 

 of vast sterile and waterless tracts, and the inhospitality and almost 

 savagery of no small proportion of its people — was so difficult and 

 dangerous that exploration has rarely been attempted ; and those who 

 have attempted it have greatly imperiled their lives, to say nothing 

 of their health and property. Mexico, furthermore, is not fully known 

 even to the Mexicans themselves. Thus, a large part of the country 

 on the Pacific coast has scarcely been penetrated outside of the roads 

 or " trails " which lead from the seaports to the interior. There are 

 hundreds of square miles in Southern Mexico, especially in the States 

 of Michoacan and Guerrero, and also in Sonora, that have never been 

 explored ; and whole tribes of Indians that have never been brought 

 in contact with the white man, and repel all attempts at visitation 

 or government supervision. During the three hundred years, also, 

 when Mexico was under Spanish dominion, almost access to the coun- 

 try Avas denied to foreigners ; the most noted exception being the case 

 of Humboldt, who, through the personal favor and friendship of Don 

 Marino Urquijo, first Spanish Secretary of State under Charles IV, re- 

 ceived privileges never before granted to any traveler ; and thus it is 

 that, although more than three quarters of a century have elapsed since 

 Humboldt made his journey and explorations, he is still quoted as the 

 best and, in many particulars, as the only, reliable authority in respect 

 to Mexico. 



In 1850, Bayard Taylor, returning from California, visited Mexico, 

 landing at Mazatlan, and crossing the country by way of the city of 

 Mexico to Vera Cruz. His journey lasted from the 5th of January to 

 the 19th of February — a period of about six weeks — and the distance 

 traversed by him in a straight line could not have been much in ex- 

 cess of seven hundred miles — a rather small foundation in the way of 



